Kentucky Football Countdown: 39 days till Kickoff

Only one more week until fall camp begins for Mark Stoops’ program. Now only 39 days away from the start of Kentucky football season, let’s take a look at what that number means for the program.

Notable Kentucky Football No. 39s

Jeff Brady wore No. 39 for the Wildcats in the late 80s. The Newport Central Catholic product started his career as a walk-on before playing his way into a starting linebacker position. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent nine seasons in the league with eight different teams. Brady appeared in 115 NFL games and started in 53, totaling 373 tackles and nine interceptions. Freddie Maggard described him as the “hardest working player that I’ve ever been around—ever.”

39 days until the start of @UKFootball! pic.twitter.com/m6FiORkAwk

— Corey Price (@coreyp08) July 26, 2022

This fall a pair of Wildcats will wear No. 39. Dillon Wheatley is an LCA product that transferred from UPike as a grad student to play fullback for the Cats. Jackson Smith won a State Title for Boyle County last year as the Rebels’ punter and placekicker. It’s unclear which one he’ll focus on to start his career.

39 Seasons of Cawood Ledford Kentucky Football Broadcasts

Even though Cawood Ledford is best known as the Voice of the Wildcats for his contributions to the basketball team, Ledford also called every Kentucky football game from 1953-91. Bear Bryant roamed the UK sidelines for Ledford’s first season in the booth. He covered three bowl games and an SEC Championship season in 1976. In his final season he gave an impassioned pregame speech to the Cats prior to their season finale against Tennessee. Unfortunately, it was not enough to let Ledford’s football-calling career end with a win.

An Eye-Opening Jared Lorenzen Record

Jared Lorenzen holds the record for most passing yards in a single game by a Wildcat. As a freshman he completed 39 passes for 528 yards against Georgia in 2000. No other Kentucky quarterback has thrown for more than 500 yards in a single game. Unfortunately, it was not enough to knock off Jim Donnan’s 12th-ranked Dogs. The Cats fell 34-30 at Commonwealth Stadium.

Monumental Kentucky Football Win at Tiger Stadium

With less than two minutes to play at Tiger Stadium in 1998, Tim Couch orchestrated a game-winning drive to setup a 33-yard field goal for Seth Hanson. The placekicker drilled it through the uprights to give Hal Mumme’s Cats a 39-36 victory over #21 LSU. Couch completed 37-50 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns in the win under the lights at Death Valley. A very grainy short piece of footage from that game-winning kick: